Wonderful scene setting

The strength of this book is in the scene setting and descriptive prose. The plot is lengthy without a lot happening and one feels an edit of the story and of the characters might enhance the narrative.

The tension is held by the uncertainty of the advancing war for the displaced community.

There are parallels to be drawn here with today, but the Pringles live in an era without social media and so gossip,rumour and uncertainty replace twitter as the characters gather in cafes and hotels.

The Pringles in their early twenties seem so middle-aged. They claim to have poor working class roots but seem like middle aged, upper middle class opinionated toffs abroad to me. I find it difficult to care about them.

The narration is superb. The male voices are particularly well done! There are many characters which the narrator creates with subtlety , and uses the dialect of the period.

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WW2 royalty

Absolute gem of a book, and hopefully series. If WW2 is your thing, then listening to this novel, which provides a different perspective on the unfolding of events outside of the allied territory, will no doubt be greatly rewarding. Great characters, well read - up there with the chamomile lawn and maybe beyond it.

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Boring

i have got through 4 chapters and am still waiting for a plot to develop. The story just lurches from one drinking party to another. Have given up on it now

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brilliant!

A fantastic narration - completely brought to life by Harriet Walter. I would thoroughly recommend.

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Harriet Walter is amazing

This is an interesting book made wonderful by Harriet Walters reading of it she is perfect for all the difficult voices I would never have enjoyed it as much from the written page

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What a wonderful discovery

I’d heard of the Balkan Trilogy but had never read the stories or watched them. And I loved it. Vivid depiction of certain elements if Central European life as WW2 started. And Harriet Walter is one of my new favourite audiobook narrators!

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Absorbing and superbly narrated

What did you like most about The Great Fortune?

I recently finished reading Olivia Manning's Balkan Trilogy, of which this is the first volume and found it to be absorbing and increasingly gripping as the story went on, a real page turner.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Great Fortune?

Apart from the many very well drawn characters, prime amongst them being Guy Pringle, what I found most interesting were the vivid and memorable descriptions of the political and physical backdrop - you really get a feel for the time and place and the tremendous uncertainties which people must have experienced living in a foreign country close to the onset of war.

Which character – as performed by Harriet Walter – was your favourite?

Harriet Walter narrates all three volumes superbly. Her pace and timing are nigh-on perfect and she draws the characters - men and women - with a sure touch, particularly Guy Pringle, his long-suffering wife, Harriet, and the incomparable Prince Yakimov..

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

As I said a real page turner. Indeed, listening to the trilogy inspired me to buy Olivia Manning's continuation of the tale of Guy and Harriet in the "Levant Trilogy" - alas book version - and I thoroughly enjoyed that too. She is a much under-rated writer.

Any additional comments?

Strongly recommended, particularly if you are interested in novels set in Europe just before the outbreak of the second world war.

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6 people found this helpful

great evocation of the period

Enjoyed story. interesting period of history. narration was excellent. found the character of Yachimov really irritating though.

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Excellent Reading of a Fascinating Book

Having both read Olivia Manning’s great trilogy and watched the TV adaptation (twice) I was somewhat wary of embarking on this reading, fearing that it might not accord with my own interpretation of the characters or those of the actors who portrayed them so well on the screen.

I need not have worried. As soon as she got into her stride Harriet Walter’s reading was quite brilliant and revealed many different aspects of the characters that I had not thought about.

Having finished the first volume it was with great impatience that I awaited my next monthly allocation. I have now listened to all three books and have no hesitation in recommending them either to new listeners or any of Miss Manning’s existing fans.

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14 people found this helpful

Wonderful

Harriet Walter is perfect as the reader, she captures the characters and the brooding tension of the city

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